Working with Confidence

Soft Skills Training for Women in Construction

Learning Objectives

Understand where confidence comes from and where it lies

Know what is good for you and do it

Learn how you can keep confident, even when things get tough

Understand how your confidence helps in all sorts of situations and in dealing with all type of people

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act but a habit…”

Aristotle

Where confidence comes from…

We are all born with self-confidence

Our natural confidence is there inside us at all times

Lost confidence is not lost for ever

True confidence begins on the inside

There is a circle of confidence

Women & Confidence

Describe your strong self

Describe your flaws

Your confidence

Before you start to improve your confidence, it is important to know where you are now

Confidence can range from – ARROGANCE, CONFIDENCE , SELF-DOUBT, LOW SELF –ESTEEM

Irrespective your starting point, you can develop your confidence

Knowing what is good for you & doing it…

How are you looking after you?

Know your strengths

Develop your “interdependence”

Develop your “assertiveness”

Assertiveness - what is it all about?

Philosophy of personal responsibility and an awareness of the rights of others:

Being honest with yourself and others

Having the ability to say what you want, need or feel, but not at the expense of others

Having confidence in yourself and being positive, whilst still understanding other peoples’ views

Having self-respect and respect for the others

Know your rights & defend them

Be you

Be here

Be treated with respect

Be treated equally

Be consulted and involved

Express your own perspective and opinions

Make your own decisions

Ask questions

Be heard

Speak without being dependent on the approval of others

Say “NO”

Disagree

Not know everything

You have the right to:

Keeping confident…

Keep near people with warm qualities and positivity!

Avoid spending too much time around people with cold qualities and negativity!

Overcome the fear of failure and the fear of success!

How to avoid losing self-esteem

Avoid comparison Don’t be obsessed with the approval of others Embrace change Let go of unrealistic expectations Remember you don’t need to be always in control Let go of resentments Acknowledge you are not all things to all people Define your own vision of success

Dealing with all “sorts”….

Give others the benefit

Get involved/don’t drift

Express your expectations

Deal with things as a one off

Don’t be surprised if other people are negative

Check your attitudes to improve our results

More ideas…

Think of others as equals - don’t look down and don’t look up in awe

Practice positive energy - usually energy is linked to a purpose

Think generous thoughts - by imagining positive traits in the other person

and behaving as if they were good, they can pick this up from your micro

signals

Networking with

confidence

Learning objectives

Demonstrate the value of networking

Learn some of the skills that will help support your network

Learn techniques to help you feel more confident to establish networks

Why is networking vital today?

Everyday we are bombarded with messages from the media in all sorts of ways. This also applies to purchasing goods/services and recruiting people.

Relationships usually triumph over the cold call and hard sell approach.

Advantages of networking

Improve your bank of contacts

Widen your knowledge

Be someone worth knowing

Identify job/social opportunities

Increase your confidence

Improve your job performance

Be considered an expert or highly knowledgeable

Networking for future success

Networking doesn’t just mean attending a business related meeting

It is a strategy for building your personal brand or profile

It supports your future success both at professional and personal level

Build a personal profile? Why?

Buy peopleBuy on trust first, products/services secondOver time they come to know what you doUnderstand who you areSee you as trustworthy/credible

People:

What interpersonal skills do we need?

Approach people

Listening skills - including memorising their names etc.

Information - what do they need from me and what do I need from them?

Clarify our understanding of who they are

Engage with people

Make an impression

How do we approach?

Be interested, curious, smile and etc. Elevator speech Ask great questions

Here are some examples: How did you get started in this industry/business and etc. What do you enjoy most in your work? What changes have been happening in your business lately?

What do we say?

Suggestions to be a good networker

Invest time in your network - be proactive Be a giver Attend as many networking events as you consider necessary and

stay focused on the important ones Identify the gaps in your network - make sure that you have a good

range of contacts that will benefit those in your network Be careful not to promise something that you can’t or won’t deliver Be patient - your network takes time to build

Think about

Why should anyone want to remember you?

What’s in it for them?

How can you earn a place in their lives?

How trustworthy are you?

Do you make a point of talking well about others?

Are people justified in thinking of you as a particular expert?

How well does your reputation precede you?

HIGH HEELS PROJECTLeonardo da Vinci –

Transfer of Innovation

2012-1-BG1-LEO05-06924

COPYRIGHT© Copyright 2013 High Heels Consortium

Consisting of:BULGARIAN CONSTRUCTION CHAMBER (BG)CONSTRUCTION TRAINING CENTER (BG)AR CI PROFESSIONAL CENTRE Ltd (BG)MILITOS EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES &SERVICES (GR)KNOWL (GR)RNDO Ltd (CY)STEJAR CENTER OF RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT & EXCELLENCE (RO)

This document may not be copied, reproduced, or modified in whole or in part for any purpose without written permission from the High Heels Consortium. In addition an acknowledgement of the authors of the document and all applicable portions of the copyright notice must be clearly referenced.All rights reserved.

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Transferring the University of Salford’s award winning training programme: “‘Women and Work: Sector Pathways Initiative” (2010)